in the line of psychical research than medical. What were the trances of this John Selwyn like?”
“Like dreams,” said the old Doctor skeptically.
“He said he could see things in them,” said Captain Jim slowly.
“Mind you, I’m telling you jest what he said—things that were happening—things that were going to happen. He said they were sometimes a comfort to him and sometimes a horror. Four nights before this he’d been in one—went into it while he was sitting looking at the fire. And he saw an old room he knew well in England, and Persis Leigh in it, holding out her hands to him and looking glad and happy. So he knew he was going to hear good news of her.”
“A dream—a dream,” scoffed the old Doctor.
“Likely—likely,” conceded Captain Jim. “That’s what I said to him at the time. It was a vast more comfortable to think so. I didn’t like the idea of him seeing things like that—it was real uncanny.
“‘No,’ says he, ‘I didn’t dream it. But we won’t talk of this again. You won’t be so much my friend if you think much about it.’
“I told him nothing could make me any less his friend. But he jest shook his head and says, says he:
“‘Lad, I know. I’ve lost friends before because of this. I don’t blame them. There are times when I feel hardly friendly to myself because of it. Such a
